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Denver Nuggets can't overcome turnovers, fall to Washington Wizards

Gina Mizell The Denver Post

Posted:
10/23/2017 09:39:13 PM MDT

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Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, center, of Serbia, pulls in a rebound in front of guard Will Barton, left, and Washington Wizards center Ian Mahinmi, of France, in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Oct. 23, 2017, in Denver. The Wizards won 109-104.

Jokic was called for a technical foul, igniting ferocious boos from the Pepsi Center crowd and helping Washington seal a victory in the game's final minute.

But Nuggets coach Michael Malone refused to blame defeat on the key officiating call in crunch time. He stressed the Nuggets lost 109-104 because of one stat - 24 turnovers for 29 points.

“Let's be honest, if we want to be a playoff team, we can't beat ourselves every night,” Malone said. “… We did a lot of good things, and we handed them 29 points.

“It's very frustrating, because that's why we're 1-2 right now. Because of turnovers and turnovers alone.”

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Malone gave credit to an active Wizards (3-0) defense that entered Monday ranked fourth in the NBA with 10 steals per game. But many of the Nuggets' errors were self-inflicted, the coach said. Even lazy, according to Jokic. And it was the worst example of an ongoing issue for Denver since the preseason, as it entered Monday ranked 27th in the NBA in turnovers in a pass-happy offense spearheaded by young point guards Murray and Mudiay.

The turnovers overshadowed a defensive performance that Malone categorized as “really good,” holding the Wizards' high-powered offense to 44 percent from the field and 9 of 30 from 3-point distance. It overshadowed a night in which the Nuggets won the rebounding edge 44-38 and outscored Washington 52-38 in the paint. And it overshadowed a bounce-back scoring outing from Jokic, who tallied 29 points, nine rebounds and five assists but was also responsible for eight turnovers.

“I scored, and we lost,” Jokic said. “Maybe it's better for me to not score.”

Mudiay also committed five turnovers, while Harris had four and Wilson Chandler finished with three. In all, the Nuggets totaled nine turnovers in a second quarter in which the Wizards flipped an eight-point deficit into a halftime lead, and nine more in the third quarter. It was not exactly a coincidence, Malone alluded, that reducing that turnover total to four in the final period helped Denver make its late push.

Jokic said the most egregious stretch of giveaways came at the beginning of the third quarter. He did not see a defender when attempting to lob a pass to Paul Millsap. Then he “passed it to a guy who was eating popcorn.” Then Murray sent a behind-the-back pass out of bounds, prompting Malone to furiously storm across the court to the free-throw line after calling a timeout.

Turnovers also killed several Nuggets opportunities to tie or retake the lead later in that period.

With a chance to tie the game at 68 with about four minutes remaining, Millsap lost control of the ball and sent speedster John Wall into transition before Bradley Beal tipped in Wall's miss at the rim. With a chance to tie again about three minutes later, Tim Frazier swiped Mudiay at midcourt before finishing at the other end. And when Denver had a fastbreak opportunity down 76-75 after Mason Plumlee corralled his own steal, the ball trickled out of bounds.

Still, the Nuggets made one last charge in the final two minutes.

Jokic hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to cut Washington's lead to 102-100 with 1:05 to play, before Wall knocked down a jumper. Murray answered with his own 18-footer with 32 seconds to go.

That's when Jokic tumbled to the floor under the basket, got up and headed to the bench. Then he he “intentionally walked into” Brooks on the way to the bench during a timeout, officiating crew Derrick Stafford said.

Beal made the technical free throw and then a driving layup to give the Wizards a two-score lead with 12 seconds to play. Wall iced the victory with two free throws.

Minutes after the game, Jokic apologized “because I put my team in a bad position.” Malone had already watched the exchange approximately 10 times and believed the Brooks' reaction was “embellished a little bit, to be honest.” The coach quipped that it's a lesson to his team to “avoid coaches at all costs” while navigating the court.

But Malone stressed that moment was not why the Nuggets lost their second game in three tries in the early season. And as Denver prepares for a four-game roadtrip that begins Wednesday in Charlotte, he implored his team to clean up the turnovers - and fast.

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